Mark L. Stout Consulting is an all-purpose transportation consulting firm, specializing in finance, program management, and legislative and DOT policy. Our company has served public agencies and non-profits, big and small, all across the nation. Mark is widely-recognized as an expert whose years of experience can help organizations to break through gridlock and deliver transformative projects and innovative community enhancements.

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Thursday, July 3, 2014

KC Country Club Plaza: Next Train Arrives in ……………….?

Construction has at last begun on a starter segment of the
Kansas City streetcar line (website here).The good news is that at least something approaching modern
transit has been started in one of the nation’s largest metros lacking rapid
transit.Unfortunately, it’s not
nearly what’s needed and even this half-measure is controversial and may fail
(background to controversy here).And although there are many high-quality activity centers along the
route (Union Station, Crown Center, Country Club Plaza, UMKC) the streetrunning
cars will only come close to many of them and will travel slowly, in mixed
traffic.

Country Club Plaza is a terrific urban, mixed-use,
transit-ready destination, but the streetcar will be a critical few blocks away
from the center (below).And who
knows when it will come?It’s not
on the starter segment.